This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of pressing pins of an IC against terminal pieces of a testing device so as to make a secure connection between the IC and the testing device through contacts of these pins with the terminal pieces.
IC pieces typically have a large number of leads, or pins, which are thin and easy to break. For testing these IC pieces, use is frequently made of a tester with a socket-like structure having terminal pieces at matching positions and, after the IC piece to be tested is placed on this socket-like structure, it is pressed towards the tester such that the pins of the IC pieces are sure to come into contact with the terminal pieces of the tester to establish correct electrical connection between the IC piece and the tester.
IC pieces are produced generally with high precision and a robot which transports them one by one to the tester is precisely controllable and is capable of placing each IC exactly at an intended position on the tester. The tester, on the contrary, is generally not precisely dimensioned. Errors on the order of about 250 microns are not uncommon. If an IC piece is carelessly pressed against the terminal pieces of a tester which are not precisely dimensioned, those fragile pins may be bent, or otherwise damaged.